Glossary

Spline

GameObject with the CurvySpline component attached

Control Point

A point controlling a spline's curvation (sometimes called “Node” by others). Control Points are regular GameObjects with the CurvySplineSegment component attached, always child objects of a spline and automatically managed.

CG

Abbreviation for Curvy Generator

CP

See Control Point

Tangent

The Tangent vector is the (normalized) direction of a spline point

Up

The Orientation- or Up-Vector defines the Upside of a spline point. Together with the Tangent it forms the rotation used by controllers for a given spline point

Total Fragment

Also known as TF. A relative position on the spline, ranging from 0 (start) to 1 (end)

The TF of a control point is shown in its inspector.

This is the “time” parameter used in the splines' formulas. A point's TF is not proportional to its distance from the spline's start. Depending on the spline, a value of 0.5 does not always mean the middle, distance wise, of the spline.

See also: Splines > Units

TF

See Total Fragment

F

A relative position on a spline segment, ranging from 0 (start of segment) to 1 (end of segment)

The F of a control point is shown in its inspector.

F is not proportional to its distance from the segment's start. Depending on the spline, a value of 0.5 does not always mean the middle, distance wise, of the segment.

See also: Splines > Units

Distance

A distance on the spline, ranging from 0 (start) to spline's length (end)

The Distance of a control point is shown in its inspector.

See also: Splines > Units

Relative Distance

A normalized distance on the spline, ranging from 0 (start) to 1 (end)

It is defined as: Distance / Spline_length

The Relative Distance of a control point is shown in its inspector.

See also: Splines > Units

Orientation Anchor

Used by dynamic Orientation mode, this Control Point option tells Curvy Splines to use the transform rotation of the Control Point as an orientation target. Think of “orientation” waypoints.

Cache

Precomputed sample points stored along a spline for faster data retrieval. Caching trades memory for CPU time. See caching documentation for details.

Connection

A relationship between two or more Control Points, managed by a CurvyConnection component. Used for junctions, transform synchronization, and Follow-Up behavior.

Controller

A component that moves or aligns a GameObject along a Spline, Path, or Volume.

Module

A node in the Curvy Generator graph. Each module has input slots, output slots, and performs a specific operation (e.g., Shape Extrusion, Create Mesh).

Slot

An input or output port on a CG module. Each slot is typed to accept or produce a specific CGData subclass (e.g., CGPath, CGShape, CGVolume).

Link

A connection from an output slot to an input slot, carrying data between modules in the Curvy Generator graph.

Extrusion

The process of sweeping a 2D Shape along a Path to create a 3D Volume. Performed by the Shape Extrusion module.

Rasterization

The process of sampling a continuous spline into discrete points. The density of rasterization affects precision and performance.